


The Dandelion Princess

by clarkespastlife



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Timelines, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-03-22 11:47:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3727699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clarkespastlife/pseuds/clarkespastlife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke finds an alternate way into Mt. Weather and things turn out much differently in the heat of battle. Clarke must make more hard decisions. With the help of her friends, she tries to save them all.</p><p> </p><p>"For her part, Lexa was silent. Her eyes were closed as she leaned against the cold concrete wall. Clarke tried not to stare at her across the way. She was continually surprised by the face that Lexa put on in front of others versus the face she had seen when they had been in her tent alone. When she had called Lexa a liar. But she had to admit there was something about backing the fearless Commander against a table that had felt good. And the way Lexa had looked at her...Lexa had admitted she cared...</p><p>Not everyone. Not you. </p><p>Clarke shook her head a bit. She couldn’t think this way. There was a war to think about, lives to save. She would have time to worry about Lexa later."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I branched away from the timeline of the last 2 episodes of season 2, so just roll with it. This is my first fic, but I'll be updating on Saturdays each week. I am anticipating 7 chapters right now. Thanks for reading!

It was two nights before the battle. The wind whispered through the trees, making the branches creak softly. The campfires crackled just out of reach of the acid fog line. Clarke was walking away from the camp, feeling restless. Waiting by the radio for Bellamy to contact them was fraying her nerves and Raven wasn’t any help. Things were just too tense with her right now.

Planning the attack and going over the model in Lexa's tent was just as nerve wracking. Clarke could always feel the Commander's eyes boring into her and she needed to escape from the tingly feeling she got whenever their eyes met. Lexa sometimes looked at Clarke like Finn had and that was scaring her a little bit. The Commander of the grounders seemed so confident and powerful. Clarke felt like their plan was solid and with Lexa by her side, she felt safe.

A sense of security was also why she knew a guard was following her, on the Commander's orders, of course. She didn’t mind as long as he didn’t talk to her. Lexa had insisted she take Vince with her wherever she went. Though he could understand English better than he could speak it, he let Clarke wander away from others with no complaints, simply following her silently through the trees like a ghost.

Clarke was scuffing her feet in the dirt somewhere north of camp when she looked up and noticed she was in a hilly clearing. Without thinking, Clarke walked up it, just following her feet wherever they took her. The moon came out from behind the clouds and she stopped, surprised. All around her, yellow flowers opened and glittered in the moonlight. Clarke bent down and reached out to one of the blooms, touching its soft petals. She had seen a painting of these in Dante's office, and the name came to her.

“Dandelions”, she breathed.

But these were clearly changed by radiation, the way they glowed yellow and had six buds instead of one. Their yellow faces reached to her mid calf as she stood up, amazed at the sight before her. Her fingers were itching for paper and a pencil as she crested the hill to get a better look. She tried to imprint the image in her mind, breathing in the smell of the dandelions.

She turned to walk down the hill, but her boot caught on something and she went down on her left arm, rolling to keep from injuring herself. She couldn’t help the cry of surprise that flew from her mouth as she fell several feet down a cliff on the back of the hill. She went down hard on packed dirt and lay there for a few minutes, feeling a bit dizzy. She groaned as she sat up, rubbing the sore spots on her arm and side. She was just thankful she hadn’t twisted her ankle or worse.

But all thoughts of personal injury fled her mind as she saw what she had tripped on.

In the middle of the field of six headed dandelions was an elevator.

 

“ _Clark! Clark kom Skaikru!”_ yelled Vince as he ran up to her.

He saw her on the ground and pulled her to her feet, his fierce eyes worried behind the black face mask he wore.

“I'm fine, I'm ok.” Clarke assured him as she dusted herself off. She glanced at the elevator and a red light caught her eye.

 _Camera_ , she thought.

“Can I borrow that?” Clarke asked, but didn't wait for a reply as she grabbed Vince's spear. She jumped and smashed the camera with the butt end of the spear in one fluid motion.

“Thanks.”

She handed a confused Vince back his weapon, stepped forward, and took a deep breath. She had no idea where in Mt. Weather the elevator shaft led to, but she had a feeling it could be useful to get inside. She hesitantly reached out and pressed the only dirt caked button on the elevator.

“Going down,” she said with a slight grin.

Nothing happened.

“Or not.”

Clarke stepped back, annoyed that it didn't work. But she knew who could fix it.

********************************************************************************************

“An elevator? In a flower field?” Raven said incredulously.

Her arms were folded across her chest as she leaned against her work table.

“Yeah, it leads to Mt. Weather somewhere, I took out one of their security cameras.”

“But it doesn't work.”

“No, I told you, it was half buried,” Clarke said defensively.

“Well I guess I can take a look at it. But someone's gotta man the radio,” she said, grabbing a pack and starting to throw some tools into it.

“Look, I wouldn't bother if I didn’t think it would be helpful.” Clarke said, looking Raven in the eye. “Its just....we have 2 nights left until we can't wait anymore, and if that elevator is a way to get our people out...”

“...we can save the day. I got it, Princess.” Raven glared daggers at Clarke as she threw her backpack over her shoulder. “Lead the way,” she said with a huff as Vince opened the flap of the tent.

Clarke nodded to him, then sat down at the radio station, suddenly tired but glad she was alone. Bellamy wasn't due to check in for a little while, according to Raven's meticulous logs...and Clarke didn't realize she had dozed off until she heard the tent flap rustle open.

“Clarke?” Lexa called as she strode into the tent.

Clarke looked at her through bleary eyes, lifting her head from the table.

“Oh, hey, I was just...you know, waiting for Bellamy to check in.” She looked at the log and yawned. “He supposed to in about 7 minutes.”

“Good. That's enough time for me to ask why you sent your guard into the woods with Raven,” Lexa retorted with a bite to her voice.

Clarke turned herself in the chair to look at the Commander. She was always in armor and warpaint recently, and Clarke's stomach did a little flip that had nothing to do with nerves about the battle. Lexa's armor didn't scare her, but her intense eyes and the way she stood with her hand on her sword like it was the most natural thing in the world was unsettling. _And hot_ , Clarke thought, trying to remember how to respond to what the Commander had said.

“Well, I found something out in the woods...and Raven has to fix it, and Vince knows where it is, and I have to wait for Bellamy to call, so I stayed here,” Clarke replied, somewhat groggily. She felt bad she hadn't told Lexa about her discovery right away but she had just been so tired. Clarke realized she hadn't slept very well since Ton DC was bombed. She rubbed her face, feeling grit and sweat that made her cringe.

“What was in the woods, exactly?” Lexa asked, taking a step forward and seeming to relax a little.

Clarke stretched in the chair and said, “An elevator.”

Lexa raised her eyebrows.

“It leads into Mt. Weather.” Clarke said, “And if we can use it to get our people in and out, it could be invaluable. But its not working, so I sent Raven to fix it and Vince had to show her the way.”

“An elevator shaft isn't practical for getting an army in and out of the mountain, Clarke.”

“I know that,” Clarke said, “But you're gonna have to trust me. It could help, and we might need it in a pinch.”

Lexa nodded slightly. “Just don't get distracted. The plans are already in motion and you know Raven's team is the most important part of the attack. She can't be busy fixing things.”

“Why are you getting upset?” Clarke asked.

“I am not upset.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I just don’t think this a practical idea. Not to mention I need you here by my side, not crawling into elevators.”

Lexa was standing right in front on her and Clarke was still straddling the chair she had fallen asleep on. Her face came up to Lexa' stomach as the brunette laid a hand on her shoulder. Her breath hitched as Lexa looked down at her, feral and beautiful. Clarke realized there was a real possibility she had a crush on Lexa and that made her heart flutter a bit, knowing what had happened the last time she let someone get close to her on the ground. How could she accuse Lexa of being heartless when she wasn't sure how she could be attracted to Lexa so soon after Finn? Clarke pushed her thoughts aside and said, “It'll be fine. We'll be ready to get the doors open. An alternate route might not be a bad thing, though.”

“Perhaps,” Lexa said, looking at Clarke with a softness Clarke didn't expect. Just Lexa admitting she needed Clarke made her wonder if the hardened Commander... _no, don’t even go there,_ she chided herself silently.

The radio crackled to life as if on cue. “Augustus to Poe, come in Poe!”

Clarke laughed out loud, the sound causing Lexa to step back in surprise as the tension between then dissipated. Clarke turned in the chair and grabbed the receiver. “Really? Code names? Points for the literary references though, I'll give you.”

Bellamy's voice was amused as he said, “Nice to hear from you too, Princess. Your codename was easy to decide.”

Clarke couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the name. Though it was sometimes used as an insult, Clarke was starting to get used to it.

“Be serious. Anything to report?”

“Not really, I'm still trying to find which access doors my card can open and where that damned fog comes from,” he said, less amused now.

“It's there somewhere, just keep going down. Ra-I mean-our little wrench monkey mentioned that its probably on a lower level,” Clarke replied.

Static answered and then Bellamy said, “I'll keep looking. I'll try the air ducts or trash chutes, since its hard to stay inconspicuous for long around here.”

“Good,” Clarke replied, then added, “Also let us know if you see any abandoned elevator shafts around...we might have found one on the surface here.”

There was a pause and then Bellamy said, “I'll try but there’s kind of a lot going on here. I have to go for now.”

“Ok, I might not be here for your next check in but I'll send someone in to wait. Be careful in there.”

“I'll try. Augustus out.”

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven finds a way into the elevator

As Clarke put the radio back into the holder, she turned to say something to Lexa. But the Commander was gone. Puzzled, Clarke got up and went looking for Wick. He was going to have to man the radio, and since he knew more about the acid fog anyway, Clarke didn't feel bad delegating the responsibility to him. After all, her mom once told her that part of being a leader meant knowing who to assign to which tasks so you don't have to take all of them on yourself. It was almost midnight, and many of the grounders were already moving to their tents. The rest were restless and huddled in small groups around the fires, talking in hushed voices. Clarke heard the word _Heda_ quite frequently, but knew little else.

Clarke found Kyle Wick sitting with Octavia by a fire on the edge of camp. Clarke was slightly annoyed that her fellow Arkers were still so hesitant to sleep side by side with grounders. At least Octavia seemed to move through both groups with ease. She held a flask of some dark liquid and was talking to Lincoln and Wick animatedly. As Clarke approached, she caught some of their conversation.

“...to be flexible though, or it won't come out fast enough to be of any use,” Octavia said, touching the leather and metal contraption Wick was fooling with.

“Maybe we should ditch the metal part entirely, then. I'm not much of a leather worker though...” Wick muttered, then looked up and smiled, “Oh hey, Clarke.”

Clarke took a seat on the log next to Lincoln and said, “Hey. What's that?”

Wick glanced at Octavia. “Oh, um, just a weapon I'm prototyping for Octavia,” he said quickly.

Octavia grinned and took a swig from the bottle she was holding. “What he means is, an awesome arm weapon that comes out of my sleeve when I need it,” she admitted, making a slashing motion with her arm. “Its gonna be awesome!”

Wick didn't look so sure.

Clarke saved him by saying, “Great. But Wick, could you go man the radio for the rest of the night while you work? Bellamy just checked in, but Raven is busy and I'm about to head into the woods.”

“What for?” Lincoln inquired.

Clarke looked at the fire and ducked her head. “Special mission,” she replied ambiguously.

Octavia had perked up at the sound of Bellamy's name and chimed in. “Can I help? Indra hasn't asked me to do anything tonight, and I already did my watch shift.”

Clarke considered the younger girl for a moment. Octavia would want to know about anything that might help her brother. Besides, Clarke knew was no good at hiding anything from her friends anyway. She nodded. “Yeah sure, stick with me. See you guys later.”

They all stood up. Lincoln embraced Octavia while Wick headed off towards the tent that housed the radio, still staring fixedly at the project he had in his hands.

Clarke weaved her way through camp with Octavia on her heels. As they entered the woods, Octavia jogged beside her. “Hey, Clarke, whats the hurry? Where are we going?”

Clarke slowed a little as she realized she was rushing. She explained about the elevator as they headed toward the dandelion field. Octavia's eyes got wide and she kept pace with Clarke, eager to see the new discovery.

The moon was going down, but the dandelions were just as breathtaking as before. Octavia was similarly impressed as they made their way toward the flashlight beam on the back side of the hill.

As they picked their way across the slope, Clarke realized that Raven and Vince weren't alone. Lexa and two tall female grounders she didn't recognize were watching as Raven pulled out a drill from her pack.

“Lexa?” Clarke said, surprise in her voice, “Why are you here?”

The Commander turned her head to look at Clarke just as the moon came out from behind the clouds, her eyes unreadable. “I had them followed and was curious about this elevator. But I shouldn't have bothered. It doesn’t work. You must see that this whole idea is useless,” she asserted smugly.

“No it isn't!” Raven replied as she powered up the drill. She placed it in the crack she had dug out that indicated where the doors should open, and pressed the drill bit in. Sparks, chunks of dirt, and metal flew back towards her welding mask. Everyone watched with bated breath as Raven moved the drill down slowly. It knocked loudly against metal for several moments until Raven's fingers released the trigger. She packed up the drill and went to her pack, pulling out a long strip of metal. “Never underestimate the power of a crowbar,” she said with a wicked grin.

Raven wedged the crowbar into the five inch space she had drilled out, then began to walk left and right, wiggling her tool.

With a soft hiss, the doors cracked open about an inch.

“Help me out here, will ya?” Raven called over her shoulder as the others rushed toward the door.

As they went to grab the doors, Clarke found her hands clutching the cold metal and brushing Lexa's. She felt a blush creep into her face and was glad it was dark enough that the Commander couldn't see.

It took several long moments for the group to pry the door open. Finally they pushed the doors into their tracks, dirt crumbling onto their heads and clothes.

There was no elevator on the other side of the doors.

Raven pulled out her flashlight and aimed it down the dark hole.

“I can't see anything...it must go really far,” Clarke observed, leaning slightly over the edge.

“Yeah. The elevator is probably stuck at the bottom. But I bet there’s also a power source down there,” Raven agreed.

There was a pause and then Lexa said, “Do you have rope?”

They all looked at Raven expectantly.

“Yeah, I do, but were gonna have to anchor it up here and leave someone to watch our back.”

“So were going down?” Octavia asked eagerly.

“Yeah, I'll go down and see if I can get this baby working,” Raven said with a grin.

“I'm coming with you,” Clarke said immediately.

Lexa glanced sharply at Clarke. “You're not going alone, but my guards can stay here.”

Clarke caught Lexa staring at her as Raven rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a stake and a long rope. “Alright. Hopefully this will reach....” she muttered as she took out her supplies.

Clarke yawned and looked at her watch. Raven had fixed it after all the trouble it had been through, and now it read 11 pm. _Oh well_ , she thought, _its not like most of us would be sleeping anyway_.

It took several minutes for Raven to pound several stakes in the ground with her crowbar, then thread the rope through them. When she was done, she tossed the remaining rope down the elevator shaft. No one said anything as the wind moved over the hill and Raven gathered her remaining supplies and put her pack back on.

“I'll go first,” Octavia announced bravely, “Bellamy's in there and he needs me.”

The others didn't argue as she went to the edge and swung her legs over the side. “I'm sure its not too far...” she muttered as she grasped the rope. In one fluid motion, she swung her body over the side, clutching the rope. Raven fixed the flashlight on her as she braced her legs against the metal walls and began to move down.

Raven hefted her pack and followed, shakily trying not to fall as she grabbed onto the rope. Clarke would offer to help, but she knew Raven wouldn’t listen if she tried. Octavia grumbled that the rope shaking so much was throwing her off, the sound echoing up to where Clarke and Lexa were standing.

Lexa took off her cloak and red sash, handing them to her guards and giving them commands in Trigedasleng. She fearlessly grabbed the rope and swung over the edge.

Clarke picked up the taunt rope and scraped her boots for purchase as she swung over the side. She soon found her hands burning as she braced her feet and steadily climbed down. It was pitch black except for the flashlight Raven clutched in her teeth. After what seemed like years, Clarke heard Octavia's feet hit something, the sound echoing loudly in the closed space. “I think I'm on top of the elevator,” she called.

No one replied, too busy concentrating on not falling to their death. Their breath sounded ragged and was amplified by the metal walls.

Raven reach the bottom and shone the light back up the rope. “You're almost there, guys,” she promised.

Clarke heard Lexa's feet hit metal and wondered if all three of them were watching her ass as she reached the bottom. _Typical_ , she thought.

She finally glanced over her shoulder and jumped down. She stumbled slightly on the metal surface and without hesitation, Lexa's arms snaked around her waist. “I've got you, Clarke,” she whispered, her voice close to the blonde's ear. Even though she spoke quietly, the other two heard loud and clear. Raven and Octavia smirked at each other. Clarke pulled away.

“I'm, uh, good, thanks,” Clarke stuttered, embarrassed.

She loved the way Lexa said her name and the way it always had a hard note to it. Lexa's mouth seemed ready to wrap around the syllable of her name like a lion's jaws. Clarke shivered and looked at Raven. “Now what?” she asked.

“Now we get in,” Raven said, shining her flashlight on a metal grate by their feet.

She pried it open in with the crowbar she got from her pack, and one by one they jumped down.

“Well there's a blessing,” Raven observed, noting the open doors.

As they all stood outside the elevator, Raven's flashlight landed on tons of thick spider webs and broken bits of stone in what looked like a long hallway.

“This hasn't been used in years,” Lexa stated quietly, trying to minimize the echos.

“That's what we're counting on,” Clarke replied.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is kind of short. I sort of...ran out of steam with this story. Perhaps I'll find more inspiration after I'm done writing the other one? Check in next week.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke, Lexa, and Octavia infiltrate the mountain as Bellamy disarms the Veil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm so late on this...This is coming along more slowly than I thought.  
> All events take place in episode 14 (Bodyguard of Lies). Trying to get the timelines right is odd, but it branches away from canon as well.  
> There's probably going to be more than 5 chapters after all, and maybe a few small edits. Hope you enjoy!

They rested, backs against the wall, while Raven pried open the access panel for the elevator. Clarke sat next to Octavia heavily, and Lexa sat across from them with her sword in her lap.

Raven worked silently and the tunnel seemed to weigh down on them. Octavia pulled out a knife and began flipping it effortlessly, doing motions and tricks while Clarke watched lazily. Clarke knew Octavia was still angry with her, but she was doing a good job of hiding it. Octavia's anger was under the surface, under the warpaint. Clarke didn't know how long it would be until the dark haired warrior lashed out at her, but for now, she simply avoided Clarke's eyes. If she knew Clarke had saved her damn life just a few hours before, perhaps she wouldn't be so angry.

For her part, Lexa was silent. Her eyes were closed as she leaned against the cold concrete wall. Clarke tried not to stare at her across the way. She was continually surprised by the face that Lexa put on in front of others versus the face she had seen when they had been in her tent alone. When she had called Lexa a liar. But she had to admit there was something about backing the fearless Commander against a table that had felt good. And the way Lexa had looked at her...Lexa had admitted she cared...

_Not everyone. Not you._

Clarke shook her head a bit. She couldn’t think this way. There was a war to think about, lives to save. She would have time to worry about Lexa later.

Suddenly, the elevator began to hum, and emergency lights flickered dimly on down the hallway. The girls all got to their feet, looking warily for any sign of movement. The doors of the elevator shakily closed, and Raven punched the up button. It shuddered to life and they could hear the cables screech a bit from lack of use. “Well, that's the best I can do,” Raven sighed. She closed the access panel as Lexa and Octavia held their swords at the ready and began to move down the hallway, cutting the thick spider webs in the way. Clarke followed with her gun hoisted and Raven hefted her pack.

“There could be anything down this hallway. How the hell are we gonna know what to do when we reach the end?” Octavia asked.

“A warrior does not worry about what she cannot control, Octavia,” Lexa said sternly.

Octavia sighed as though taking the lesson in stride.

For her part, Clarke was just glad that Lexa wasn't lecturing her for once.

The hallway turned left and they followed it slowly. The lights seemed to get stronger and flickered less, which Clarke was sure meant they were reaching the main facility. The hallway didn't branch, but they could see the end looming in the distance. A brown door with a quarantine warning ended their walk. It had no access panel or seemingly obvious way to get in. They stood there awkwardly for a few moments.

“I don't see any cameras,” Raven observed, “this hallway isn't monitored.” Clarke found herself looking around as she realized the same thing.

“What's that?” she asked, spotting a grate in the ceiling above their heads.

“Our way in,” Octavia said with a grin. She stood under it and sheathed her sword on her back.

“We can boost each other up,” Lexa suggested.

“I'll pull that panel down,” Octavia decided.

They spent about 10 minutes hoisting her up, Raven on the bottom and Lexa and Clarke spotting and trying to hold them steady. Armed with Raven's crow bar, Octavia managed to pry the panel off without falling. It clattered to the floor as Lexa effortlessly dodged it.

Octavia grunted as she pulled herself up through the small hole, the others pushing her feet to help.

“Are you ok?” Clarke called anxiously.

“Its dusty and kind of hot, but its safe,” Octavia replied, her voice echoing against the metal walls of the shaft.

The others glanced at each other. “I'm going next,” Clarke volunteered, daring the other two to argue.

Raven cupped her hands and Clarke felt Lexa's strong arms wrap around her legs. She was going to have to train herself not to blush anytime Lexa got her near her.

After some shoving and grunting, during which Raven just _had_ to remark on how heavy the blonde girl was, Clarke managed to pull herself into the air duct behind Octavia. She couldn’t turn around and her back was against the top of the shaft, forcing her into an unconformable crouching position. On her hands and knees, she crawled forward a bit to clear the way for whoever was coming next.

Which, from the sound of it, was going to be Lexa. They all realized about the same time that Raven wouldn’t be able to make it up. “Raven...” Clarke called.

“Yeah, I know, Princess. I’m just not down for this trip. See ya later,” the mechanic called with an edge to her voice.

Clarke felt Lexa's presence behind her a short while later.

“Raven is going back to the elevator. She also mentioned that getting a few short range radios. She gave me the one she had,” Lexa informed them.

“Hold on to that,” Clarke said shortly, and they began to move forward.

Clarke couldn’t even begin to imagine how long they crawled. It was too dark to see her watch and the dust tickled her nose. The air duct turned left after a few minutes, which required some awkward maneuvering to get around. Their breath seemed louder than it had in the elevator shaft, but it comforted Clarke to know Lexa was behind her in case something happened. The main annoyance she had was stopping her gun from clanging against the metal siding they were crawling through.

At long last, Octavia's feet in front of her stopped and a shaft of light spilled over them at different intervals.

“Theres a big fan here. We can't get through here without being hit,” Octavia observed drily.

“Use the crowbar, O,” Clarke demanded through gritted teeth. Her back was killing her and she wanted out of the tin can they were in. Fast. After all her years on the Arc, she hated confined spaces more than ever at that moment.

There was a loud clang as Octavia stuck the crowbar into the fan's path. Clarke couldn’t see but it sounded like it was echoing in the room beyond. With the fan out, they could hear a new noise.

Voices.

“Clarke...” Octavia said quietly.

“What is it?” Clarke asked.

“There's people in there. People in cages,” Octavia replied breathlessly.

Clarke's heart hammered. “We're in the harvest chamber,” she whispered. A shudder ran through her.

“What now?” Lexa said impatiently behind her.

“This is where they’re keeping your army,” Clarke replied, “where I found Anya before we escaped.”

Then she frowned, ashamed that she still hadn’t told Lexa the truth about Anya's death. Maybe someday. Definitely not right now.

“Can we get in, Octavia?” she asked aloud.

The dark haired girl was silent for a moment. “I think so. This mesh in front of the fan isn’t very thick. I think the fan blades are far enough apart to climb through. Just be careful not to bump the crowbar.” she assessed quietly.

She awkwardly unbuckled her sword, and began hitting the mesh in front of the fan with the hilt, keeping the blade in the scabbard. After several agonizing moments, it caved and fell to the bottom of the fan's casing.

“We're in,” Octavia said quietly. She awkwardly shuffled out of the air duct, moving slowly to avoid hitting the crowbar or hitting her head. Luckily, the fan was huge, damn near as tall as a full grown man. Octavia stopped as she looked down.

“I hope your legs are steady,” she said over her shoulder.

“What?” Clarke demanded, too annoyed and uncomfortable for Octavia's jokes.

“Its a pretty fair drop,” the other girl replied.

“Can we make it?” Lexa asked from behind Clarke's feet.

“I can. I don’t mind taking the plunge,” Octavia said. With a quick grin behind her, she dropped out of sight.

Clarke swore. “She's gonna give me a heart attack one of these days.”

Lexa didn't reply.

Clarke shuffled forward, using her hands as leverage until she could get her feet free. She pressed herself to the side of the fan as her boots scraped the metal. She glanced down to her right. Octavia was nowhere in sight, but thankfully the ground was. They were in a space between several tall stacks of cages. Beyond, she could see the place where they strung up the harvest victims. She swallowed and inched over to the edge. It had to be a 10 foot drop. Clarke glanced to her left, where Lexa was staring at her from the mouth of the air duct.

She said nothing, but their eyes locked and Clarke felt her stomach flutter with nerves.

Then she jumped.

She hit the concrete hard, rolling to save herself from getting hurt too badly. When she sat up, she figured she was going to have more bruises to add to the ones she had sustained tripping over the elevator. She sighed and got to her feet, looking up to where Lexa hovered at the edge of the fan.

“Clarke,” she called, “Take the radio so I don't break it.”

“Okay, toss it down.”

It flew towards her and Clarke mentally praised her hand-eye coordination as she caught it. Lexa followed a few seconds later, rolling and then standing with her sword at the ready as they looked about.

The radio in Clarke's hands had switched on and Bellamy's voice echoed around them. Clarke spotted Octavia helping a grounder woman away from the harvesting contraption and went to help.

“The needle's moving...The PH is rising,” Bellamy spoke over the radio.

Lexa sheathed her sword and brushed past Clarke.

“It's working,” Wick replied.

Lexa began speaking in rapid Trigedasleng to the woman as Octavia held her steady. Clarke could tell she was listening closely, translating what she knew in her head. Her face showed recognition, then relief.

Lexa turned to Clarke, her eyes desperate. “This is Echo, a woman of the Ice Nation. She says she saw Bellamy. He promised to come back for her. We have to get these people out, Clarke.”

Before she could answer, Bellamy's voice crackled over the radio.

“Passivization successful,” Bellamy said smugly.

Clarke grabbed the radio.

“Bellamy! It's me!” Clarke said desperately.

“Clarke, I'm in the acid chamber, the PH just leveled out,” Bellamy responded.

Raven's voice cut in. “I made it back, Clarke. We were just about to shoot up the flare.”

“Save it. We've got more pressing concerns. We can get everyone out, we just need to open that door. Bell, can you make it to the harvest chamber?” Clarke asked.

Lexa looked impatient, and began stalking around the cages. The drained and weak prisoners began to recognize her.

“ _Heda....Heda....Heda!_ ” the prisoners began to call, rattling their cages and pressing their hands to the mesh.

“Uh....Raven, I think we have a problem,” Bellamy said. Clarke struggled to hear Raven's reply.

The racket was getting on her nerves.

“Will you shut them up?” Clarke snapped at Lexa. The Commander held up her hands. " _Shof op_!" she yelled.

“Clarke, we definitely have a problem...!” Bellamy yelled as the chamber quieted. He sounded desperate and Clarke felt her stomach do a flip.

“Bellamy! Bellamy! Can you hear me?” she asked.

No answer.

Clarke turned to Octavia, fear in her eyes.

“We can't wait. We have to get that door open. We can get them up the elevator and out of here! Help me break these damn cages open!” Clarke cried, turning to Lexa.

The Commander looked dubious but nodded slightly. She spoke to her people reassuringly in Trigedasleng as they began searching for anything heavy with which to smashing the locks. After several attempts, they busted a fair number of people out. The former prisoners rushed to the cages of those they knew, desperate to get free. On the lower level, the shouting and rattling resumed.

An explosion that was muffled by 2 layers of concrete, but still clear, reached their ears. Everyone went dead silent.

“Bellamy!” Clarke yelled into the radio desperately.

“Don't worry Princess, I got rid of the acid,” Bellamy coughed with a hint of laughter in his voice.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke says goodbye to Octavia and Lexa, then she and Bellamy go to face the mountain. Lexa promises to go through with the plans for the battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So glad I got this up in time. I have been working mandatory overtime for 2 weeks and have been crazy busy.  
> Unfortunately, I have to take a short hiatus until May 25th. I'm going out of the country and won't have internet access. Hopefully I can still write offline and have another chapter or two ready when I get back.  
> Sorry about this, but thanks so much for reading! I'll update when I can!

There was a low drone of tension in the room as the weak grounders gathered on the lower floor. Clarke and Octavia were standing at the ready by the infirmary entrance while Lexa was walking among her people. Some of them wept when they saw her, reaching to touch her in admiration.

Clarke could only see her braids moving among the sea of people. She felt a flutter of admiration for Lexa mixed with a certain bitterness. Her friends weren’t here. She had checked every cage and saw no sign of Monty or Jasper or Harper or any of the others. She was antsy, worried they would be discovered at any moment. But Lexa, of course, was pleased. Her people were safe. They were thanking her. Clarke wished she could feel the same at that moment.

“She really is a good leader,” Clarke said aloud without thinking.

Octavia snorted.

“Yeah if you count killing 250 people and going on a suicide mission with you as good leadership.”

“This is not a suicide mission,” Clarke replied defensively.

“Yeah? Look around you, Clarke. If the Mountain Men figure out were here, we have one gun, 2 swords, and a bunch of half dead grounders. There's no way we can make it out. We shouldn't have even come down here.”

“The elevator was exactly what we needed. This isn't a suicide mission, it's a rescue mission. Don't you understand that this is all about survival? I'm doing what I can to make sure everyone stays alive...especially you. I'm canceling your mission with Indra. There's no need to come down the Reaper tunnels now. We'll modify the plans a bit and you can stay in the rear guard, where you'll be safe.”

Octavia stepped back and looked at Clarke. “I don't take orders from you. And I won't ever understand you. You think you can decide how everything is going to go, how every plan is going to work out. But you can't. People are going to die, and you can't accept it, so you keep trying to justify it. And you know what? I'll fight this war with you now because I want our friends back, but after that, we're done,” she snarled.

Clarke had no reply for that. It seemed like everyone was mad at her these days. All she had done was try to protect everyone. Raven was still angry about what had happened to Finn. Octavia was angry about the missile. Her mother was mad about Clarke taking control of all the plans and leaving her and Kane out of it. On and on. Lexa was probably the only person who didn't seem to hold her actions against her at the moment.

Just as she was thinking about the implications of that, the Commander rejoined them. Octavia tried to straighten her posture and moved away from where she had been leaning against the concrete wall. Clarke could tell that even though Octavia didn't trust her _Heda_ , she still felt the need to impress her. Lexa inspired her people that way. Clarke was suddenly reminded of when Lexa told her part of being a good leader was making people want to die for you. An involuntary shiver ran up her back at the thought. Clarke was so tried of death in the name of survival. Sick of people not understanding her decisions. And all she wanted was for others to have to make the hard decisions. But she knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Lexa seemed to feel the tension radiating off Octavia as she stood a few feet away.

“Clarke, may I speak with you privately?”

Clarke glanced at Octavia, then nodded.

Octavia glared and turned to walk away. Lexa's eyes followed her until she was down the ladder and out of earshot.

“Walk with me,” Lexa said. She headed toward a row of cages in the corner, away from her warriors.

Clarke followed curiously until Lexa turned, her face half hidden in shadow.

“When those doors open, I must return to the surface. My army is out there and they need me,” Lexa stated matter of factly.

“Right,” Clarke said, unable to contain the bitterness in her voice. “You have your people back.”

“The danger has not passed, Clarke. But yes, I am glad they will live another day. That is all I can offer them before we head into battle.”

Clarke frowned.

“You can't mean...”

“I will send my entire army back into this mountain. We do what we must to survive.”

“Don't you think life should be about more than survival? Don't they deserve better than that? Don't we?” Clarke asked, turning her head away. For a second, she couldn't bear Lexa's intense gaze.

There was a pause as Lexa swallowed hard and said, “Maybe we do.”

Clarke looked up just in time to register surprise as Lexa reached out her hand and pressed her lips against hers. But the surprise quickly turned to a warm feeling in her chest. She reached up to hold herself steady, her hand landing on Lexa's bicep. Lexa reached and placed her hand on Clarke's waist. The heat between them seemed to double and Clarke felt dizzy. The kiss was soft and gentle and not at all what Clarke expected from Lexa. It was almost like her last kiss with Finn, she thought, before...

Without realizing it, Clarke pulled away from Lexa's mouth as if burned. Lexa's big green eyes looked hurt in the dim light.

“I'm sorry...I can't...”

Lexa looked like Clarke had struck her. Hurt and briefly afraid. Clarke saw all her walls crumble and felt horrible she had been the one to cause it.

“Not yet,” Clarke added, hoping that would help. And she meant it. She wanted Lexa, wanted her in the worst way, but it was too soon after her last love. It wasn’t the ideal moment, and the war loomed too close. She felt her pulse pounding, her face flush. But Lexa tilted her head slightly in a short nod, as if she did not trust her voice.

Suddenly, Bellamy burst through an air vent access panel several feet away, crawling on all fours. Clarke ran to him as he got to hit feet and hugged him.

“Hey,” he said, as though everything was completely normal.

“Hey yourself. Do you know where the others are?”

“Right now? They're still hidden among the people of Mt. Weather. But we don't have much time. The guards sweeping and searching. Pretty soon they'll start killing people to get the bone marrow they need,” Bellamy said, his jaw tensing.

Clarke made of her mind. “Then we'll go in and get them,” she stated with more bravery than she felt.

“Clarke...you'll be spotted. They know you,” Lexa cautioned.

“I know. I'm counting on it, actually,” she turned to Lexa and looked into her eyes.

“I'm still counting on you getting those doors open.”

Lexa's eyes softened as she looked at Clarke and nodded. “I will do my best.”

Bellamy handed Lexa his keycard. “Let's get these people out first. Where's Echo?”

“This way,” Lexa said, turning on her heel.

Clarke followed them down the ladder, and the people moved aside for the three of them to pass. Murmurs and whispers surrounded them as Clarke walked beside Lexa with Bellamy following behind. Octavia was standing next to Echo by the door. When she saw her brother, she ran to him, a big smile on her face.

“I'm so glad you're safe. Now you can get out of here,” she murmured into his neck.

“Not yet, O,” he replied softly, kissing the top of her head, “You're going with Echo.”

She pulled away, hurt and confused. Bellamy turned to Echo, who was leaning against the wall for support.

“Told you I'd come back for you,” he said with a rueful smile. Echo nodded and stepped forward to grasp his arm. “May we meet again.”

Over her shoulder, he swiped the keycard beside the door. It buzzed and turned green, and the doors slid open. Almost immediately, a quarantine alarm began to blare loudly.

“Get out!” Clarke shouted above the din, and the crowd rushed forward. She saw Echo grab Octavia and pull her down the corridor. Lexa turned to Clarke, reaching desperately to grasp her hand. Clarke's stomach did a flip even as she saw worry in the Commander's eyes.

“If you get caught, I will kill them all,” Lexa promised, then turned and disappeared into the crowd, shouting orders.

Clarke barely had time to register her words before she turned to Bellamy.

“The air vent!” she shouted above the wail of the quarantine siren.

They sprinted through the crowd and she climbed the ladder as Bellamy followed her. They ran for the air duct he had come out of even as the door to the elevator hissed shut.

“Commencing decontamination,” a voice announced.

There was a loud whirring noise as the air was whipped out of the room. Everything was silent for a moment as they climbed into the shaft. This one was slightly wider than the one they had come in through, enough for 2 people to kneel next to each other. Bellamy turned was able to pull the hatch back on behind them with a sharp grinding sound.

They made it just in time. The door from the infirmary opened and Clarke could see a guard, who she recognized as Emerson, holding a gun to an older man's head as he entered the room. He dropped his stance however, when he saw the room was empty. He pushed the man to the ground.

“That's Maya's dad,” Bellamy breathed quietly.

Clarke felt her stomach drop. With 2 guns, there was no way they could take Emerson and his guards.

“Sweep this room,” he ordered. His guards fanned out around him, checking cages and climbing down the ladder to the lower level.

“Looks like you've outlived your usefulness,” Emerson sneered.

He shot Maya's father in the head.

Clarke wanted to cry out. But instead, she and Bellamy quietly crawled away, deeper into the mountain.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Bellamy make their way to the command center for the final negotiations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot my laptop overseas and my phone fell in water while I was there, so I'm sorry I wasn't able to write or update until today! With only a chapter or so left in this story, I am so glad you guys took the time to read it and bear with me :)

Clarke would hear later of the battle in the tunnel. The way the grounders piled into the elevator while Lexa and Octavia killed the soldiers. The way Emerson escaped with his tail between his legs. The people who died to protect their Commander and Indra's second, despite being weak and starved. They died with honor, jumping on the soldiers and killing them with their bare hands, she would be told in reverent tones.

But for now, there was only the long trip through the ducts, side by side with Bellamy. The air was warm and breezy, but Clarke found herself panting, trying hard not to think about Maya's father on the concrete behind them. Suddenly she stopped.

“Take this,” she grunted, handing Bellamy her gun. It was a pain in the ass to carry, not to mention it felt tainted to her because it was the kind Emerson had used to murder one of his own people.

Bellamy's eyes looked confused, but then he nodded and traded her for his smaller handgun.

They continued crawling on.

“Maya's father showed me a map of these tunnels,” he said tightly, “and I think our best plan is to get back to her and Jasper, plan our next move.”

“Okay,” Clarke replied lamely. She didn't have the faintest idea where they were going or what they were going to do. Octavia's words echoed in her ears.

 _Suicide mission_.

“You ok?” Bellamy asked, glancing at her.

Clarke hesitated. “Yeah. I'm fine,” she said stiffly.

He caught her elbow as she tried to crawl forward.

“You're not ok. What was happening with Lexa before I got there? Was she threatening you?” he inquired, concern in his voice.

Clarke felt a hot blush threatening to creep up her face.

“Nothing. Just discussing the escape plan,” she lied.

He held her gaze for a moment, then sat back on his heels.

“Lets rest here.”

She nodded, feeling guilty. He wanted to pin her down and get the truth. But it all felt too fast, too much. She didn't want to discuss Lexa right now. Not when she was worried about her friends, all her people who were captured and no doubt being drilled into right this moment.

“Bellamy, I-”

He held up his hand. “Wait...Listen.”

Faintly, they heard voices. They nodded silently to each other and crept forward a few feet. Sure enough, there was a vent on the right side of the duct. Beyond, they could see a pair of shiny dress shoes next to a pair of military boots. The voice speaking was unmistakably Cage.

“You find Emerson, and you tell him I want him on Level Five, immediately,” Cage said, sounding desperate and angry.

“Y-yes sir, I will.”

“You had better hurry. We just caught two more of them at the dam. I’m going to dinner, make an appearance at the mess hall. I want an escort on level Five, as many men as you can spare. And I want you to flush those damn kids on Level Two out.”

“Yes sir”

“Don't fail me, Thorpe.”

Bellamy glanced grimly at Clarke. They were silent until the footsteps faded in opposite directions.

“We gotta move, Clarke. We have to get to the others. If were lucky, while Cage is away, we can take the Command Center.”

Clarke weighed their options. The Command Center had what they needed: communication, tracking, and cameras. She set her jaw.

“Let's go,” she said.

They crawled around several more rabbit like twists and turns. They came to a junction and climbed up a ladder, then pressed forward until Bellamy held up a hand for a halt. He angled his body toward a grill nearby and planted several, loud, hard kicks. The grill groaned and caved. Bellamy pulled her out, and she saw they were standing in a residential hallway.

“Someone will have heard that!” Clarke snapped, taking the safety off her gun and pressing herself to the concrete wall on instinct. They seemed to be on level two, according to a large number painted on the wall.

“I'm counting on it,” Bellamy said with a grin.

A dark haired head poked out of a nearby door.

“Bellamy? Clarke! Clarke's here!” Jasper cried, running toward them. Behind him, Clarke saw Monty and Maya. Relief spread through her as she embraced each one of them in turn.

“What are you doing here?” Maya asked in a worried tone as she pulled away. “If they catch you...”

Clarke looked at the dark haired girl, feeling a sad twinge in her gut. She glanced at Bellamy, begging him silently not to say anything about her father. They needed Maya's help more than ever, and she didn't want to distract her from their mission.

“We're not going to get caught. We're going to the Command Center. All of us,” she said aloud, more firmly than she felt. Now that they were with her again, she would be damned if she let them out of her sight.

“This way,” Maya said with a curt nod. They headed toward a stairwell, Clarke and Bellamy behind Maya with guns ready.

Bellamy swiped his key card. Nothing happened.

“Dammit!” he cussed, kicking the door in frustration. “They must have deactivated it after Emerson found us!”

Jasper groaned in frustration. “Guess well have to climb through the trash chute.”

Maya shook her head.

“No...we might be able to get a working key card. But we're going to have to find a soldier who has one,” she said, looking Clarke dead in the eyes.

It was obvious what she meant. They all nodded grimly.

“Where are the monitored hallways?” Clarke asked. She hadn't spent nearly as much time in the mountain as her friends. Even if she had been looking at maps a lot recently, she still felt turned around.

“Over here. Its a faster way to the command center anyway,” Maya called over her shoulder as she rushed down the hallway. They followed her, ears pricked for any sound of soldiers. Clarke really didn't like the idea of a close quarters firefight, but if that’s what they needed to get into the command center, that's what they would do. They needed to contact Lexa and see what was happening. And somehow, Clarke hoped, find a way to make a peaceful end to the war.

Rushing as they were, they didn't anticipate the soldiers coming around the corner. Without a thought, Bellamy fired on them and the delinquents ducked back out of sight. Radios crackled on the other side, as the two soldiers started reporting their position.

“All units we have five armed assailants in corridor 23...”

“Fuck, they know where we are,” Clarke said through ground teeth.

“Stay here,” Bellamy commanded, creeping forward with his gun's muzzle in front of him.

“This is no time for heroics, Bell!” Clarke shouted. She pushed past him, firing two blind shots around the corner. She was angry, she was afraid, and she wanted to protect her friends. The radio cut off as the soldiers ducked. She heard them prep their weapons.

“Come out with your hands up! Put down your guns!”

She stepped out beyond the wall. Before they had time to react, she ducked down to one knee and put a bullet in the left guard's stomach. More bullets flew as Bellamy rushed to back her up and she rolled out of the way on the cold concrete. Blood pounded in her ears and the deafening sounds ceased. The remaining soldier went down, a bullet in his chest.

Maya was standing in the hallway, a small pistol in her hand.

Clarke got to her feet, unable to keep the look of surprise off her face.

“I can protect myself,” Maya said, a determined look in her eyes.

Jasper looked like his eyes might fall out of his head.

“Is that what your dad gave you before he went to the harvest chamber?” he asked.

She smiled at him.

“Yeah. Too bad he wasn't around to see me use it.” Her smile faltered and she looked at Bellamy. “Did he say where we was going to meet you?”

Bellamy faltered, trying to mask his discomfort by dropping some bullet shells out of his gun.

“No. But we have to keep moving.”

“Is this all part of your plan, Clarke? I thought we were working with the grounders now?” Monty inquired.

Clarke looked into his dark eyes grimly. “The plan is still in place. We need to get to the Command Center, contact the grounders, and rescue our people. Can you hack into their systems when we get there?”

“Sure I can,” he said with a grin. “I'm no Raven, but I got this.”

She felt a swell of pride for her friends. They had defied the odds. Or at least she hoped.

Bellamy grabbed the two key cards off the dead soldiers, wiping the blood off one. Clarke tried not to look at the dead men as he handed one to Monty.

“If all else fails, you need to get up there.”

Monty nodded.

They traveled down the halls quietly, but encountered no more resistance until they got to the stairwell. A single guard turned as they opened the door, but Bellamy was ready for him. The sharp report of the gun was cut short by the bulk of his body.

Stepping over his prone form, they headed down the hallway where the Command Center door was located. Just when Clarke was ready to give the okay to move forward, Dante strode toward the door, swiped his card and entered.

“There's our leverage. Let's go,” Clarke whispered.

They crept forward, Jasper and Monty in the rear and Maya in the middle. Clarke and Bellamy flanked the door while the others hung back.

Bellamy swiped his stolen key card, and they faced the open door, guns raised.

For his part, Dante didn't even react. He was staring at the big monitors, watching his people eating dinner peacefully. They didn't seem to know that the grounders were on another monitor, waiting outside the door. Waiting for Clarke.She couldn't see any details, but she felt a surge of courage knowing Lexa was surely at the front of the army. The mountain men didn't seem to be trying to fix the dam, but the power was still on.

Clarke stepped forward, gun still raised.

“Dante Wallace,” she said, more to get a reaction than for any real reason to say anything. She wasn't quite sure yet how she was going to twist this in her favor, but she had an idea.

“You seem to be a very busy woman, Clarke,” the old man stated, finally turning to smile at her grimly.

“Cut the shit. What are you doing here?”

“Before you so rudely barged in, I was going to make an announcement to my people. My son is rather distracted at the moment,” Dante said, indicating a small monitor titled DORM, where Clarke could see her people in handcuffs. Raven was being pulled to an operating table. Tears stung her eyes even as anger bubbled up inside her. Bellamy, Maya, Jasper, and Monty, stood behind her as the door to the Command Center slid closed.

She aimed her gun at Dante's chest.

“Were going to give your son a little call,” Clarke stated bluntly. She always felt tired whenever she spoke to the former president. His grim smile reminded her in some ways of how Lexa looked sometimes, having seen horror and survival but little hope.

Bellamy handed her a radio from a nearby charging station. On Level Five, Clarke could see Emerson, in civilian clothes now, just a hallway away from Cage and the dorms where her people were.

“Sergeant Emerson, please respond,” she said into the radio.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several events change the outcome of the war, for better and for worse.

“Who is this?” Emerson's voice demanded through the radio.

“You know who I am. I have a message for Cage,” Clarke replied.

She saw him stiffen on the cameras, then he began moving toward the dorm.

“I'm listening,” he said, and she could hear the faint sound of drilling in the background as it echoed off the concrete walls.

She watched as Emerson handed off the radio to the younger president. They had a short conversation before Cage took the radio and stepped away from the dorm doors.

“What do you want, Clarke?” he demanded over the radio.

“I have a deal to offer you, Cage. Surrender peacefully and be submitted to war crime trials along with your soldiers. Release my people, and _your_ people live. Refuse, and I let you take your chances against a thousand grounders coming in your font door. Refuse, and I kill your father.”

“You don’t have him. You're lying,” Cage said, with mockery in his voice.

Clarke inched closer to Dante. She hedged her bets on him being unarmed and helpless to harm her, especially with Bellamy and Jasper and Maya behind her. She looked over her shoulder to confirm this. That was when she noticed Jasper and Maya were gone. Pushing the thought aside, hoping they had just stepped out to guard the door, she approached Dante Wallace.

“Talk to your son,” she commanded.

“Stay the course, Cage,” Dante obliged into the radio, leaning toward her slightly.

There was a long pause. Cage seemed to say something under his breath to Emerson, who exited the screen almost immediately.

“There's no deal. I already offered one to your lovely commander friend.”

“Now who's the liar?” Clarke bit back. Her felt her jaw clench. Surely Lexa wouldn't betray her after everything...

“Come on, Clarke, why must we play these games? I’ve already got what I want.”

Clarke felt her stomach clench as she glanced back at the screen titles MAIN ENTRANCE.

“Monty, zoom in on Lexa,” she said.

He nodded, typed a few commands, and the cameras located her. She stood fierce and tall, just out of the reach of the fire line. Her ragged warriors crowded around her as a gentle rain fell. She didn’t seem to be going anywhere. Tearing her eyes away from Lexa's running warpaint, Clarke turned to Monty.

“Can you get the doors open?” she asked.

He looked nervous. “I think so, but I have to bypass the mainframe controls and override them. It might take a few minutes.”

“Do it,” Clarke said, sounding more harsh than she intended to.

“Clarke, those doors were never made to be open for long,” Bellamy pointed out, “not a whole lot of that army is gonna get through."

"I hope thats enough," she said quietly.

She felt a headache creeping up her temples. She had been awake for over 24 hours at this point, and all she wanted was to sleep. Wanted this war to be over. But they were far from safe. She wondered where the hell Maya and Jasper had gotten to. She scanned the screens silently for a few moments, trying to collect herself. She knew they couldn't do this alone. They didn't have much time left.

Clarke picked up a second radio and tuned to Lexa's frequency. Someone had been smart enough to switch the commonly used frequency. Or perhaps it was a happy accident.

“Lexa. Come in Lexa.”

On the screen, she watched a momentary flicker of confusion cross Lexa's face.

“Lexa, the radio. Its Clarke.”

The Commander untangled the radio from a clip on her belt.

“Clarke,” Lexa responded, looking intently at the small black box in her hands.

“Lexa, we need your help. They’ve got us cornered. We might be able to get the door open for you. Maybe not for long, just enough to let some of your people in. If not...use the elevator, use the tunnels, do whatever you have to do. Just get in here. Level Five is where all the Mountain Men are. Including the children. You might want to steer your people clear of the quarantine zone. Some of the soldiers will come for you to fight.”

“That was the plan all along, I believe.” Lexa replied.

Clarke paused.

“And don't listen to anything the Mountain Men try to ask you to do for our safety,” she cautioned.

“They have lost their leverage to offer any deals. I personally killed three soldiers.”

“Good. Clarke out.” she said, hoping Lexa would understand the expression.

She watched the Commander fire off several commands, then remained waiting.

Clarke switched radios again.

“I could kill all your people, Cage. Let the prisoners go. Don t make me do this.” Clarke begged.

She was getting nervous. Her heart was pounding. Her hands were sweating on the handle of her gun, and it shook ever so slightly, but still held steady in Dante's general direction.

“By the time you kill me, all the people you love will be dead,” Cage Wallace replied.

On the screen, she watched as Raven was pulled off the table. Abby Griffin was unchained and pulled over, to the distress of all the other prisoners, who squirmed in their bonds.

“Mom...” Clarke almost whimpered.

“Clarke, we're running out of time. Emerson is coming this way," Bellamy warned.

Keeping her gun trained on Dante, she turned to watch Emerson running through the halls. He was clutching a small black package.

“Hes going to blow the doors,” Monty exclaimed, frantically typing, “I can cut his key card off and-”

“No! Get the doors open, Monty. If you can't do that, were dead anyway! Unless you’ve got a better plan.”

Monty looked sheepish. “I can open the hatches on Level Five. Pull in outside air and irradiate the level.”

Clarke swallowed hard. Everything was happening too fast. Too many people. Too many decisions.

“I don't want to do that except as a last resort,” she said grimly. She didn't know where Maya was, but she was sure doing that could harm her and the others who helped keep her friends safe. 

Emerson kept coming up the hallway, a frantic look on his face. Clutched my indecision and feeling helpless, Clarke turned to the screen in the dorm. Her mother was screaming in pain as two doctors drilled into her leg. She didn't notice Jasper at first, on the edge of the screen. By the time she did, it was too late.

He walked calmly up behind Cage, a look of determination on his face. He seemed to embrace the shorter man, and though Clarke couldn't hear the shot, she knew it went straight to his spinal cord. Cage crumpled to the floor.

Dante lunged at Clarke at approximately the same time. She was pushed to the ground and her gun and radio went flying. Before she had a chance to shout or fight back, blood splattered her clothes. Dante rolled off her from the force, a bullet lodged cleanly in his balding head. Adrenaline pumping, Clarke scrambled out of the way. She felt her ears buzzing and saw Bellamy holding his gun out. She looked at Dante's prone form, feeling numb. The Mountain Men had lost both their leaders in a matter of seconds.

By the time Bellamy pulled her to her feet, she just barely heard Monty talking.

“I did it! I got the doors open!” he cried triumphantly.

Clarke watched as a wave of black clad, dripping grounders streamed through the gap in the door to Mount Weather. The door was on Level Four, she realized. The Mountain Men were between Clarke and her allies. She had to stop the full scale slaughter she knew was about to take place. If Lexa's army got into Level Five, there was no telling who would die. Decades of Mountain Men capturing their loved ones was unlikely to make them merciful. If they were willing to kill kids at the Dropship, Clarke was sure they would not flinch at killing children in the mountain.

“Emerson is almost here, Clarke!” Bellamy reminded to her, cutting through her quick thoughts.

“We have to stop him. If he blows the door, he could damage the electronics in here. It could do serious damage,” Monty added.

Clarke moved toward the door.

“I'll take care of him,” she promised.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is coming to a conclusion soon, I hope. I know it's not my best work, but I'm still working to complete it.


	7. Chapter 7

With Emerson running full tilt, he didn't see Clarke until it was too late. She emptied her magazine in the general direction of his legs, managing to take him down. The black package went skittering away as he howled in pain and clutched at the bullet lodged in his thigh.  
As he cried out, Clarke approached him and kicked the bomb package further away. Adrenaline was coursing through her as she grabbed Emerson by the hair.  
"This is the end, you rotten son of a bitch. I'm only keeping you alive so you can tell everyone what you did here." Clarke hissed, then punched him.  
She saw red as she pummeled him, angry at everything he had done, everything he made her do. When he was out cold, she found Bellamy and Monty staring at her.  
"I think I just remembered why I don't wanna get on your bad side," Monty said in disbelief.  
"We need to lock him up," Bellamy said, regaining the sense of urgency. The three of them hauled Emerson's dead weight to a nearby room. As she removed his key card from his pocket, Clarke felt somewhat guilty.  
"He'll die of blood loss if I don't put a tourniquet on," she whispered.  
Bellamy looked at her in surprise. Reading her saddened face, he softened.  
"Do what you gotta do. But we need to get to Level 4."  
"I know. I know. But he knows a lot of Cage's darkest secrets. We need him, Bell," she pleaded.  
"We can go on ahead," Bellamy offered.  
"Yeah," Monty said from over his shoulder, "we can now that we have his key card."  
Clarke stopped ripping fabric from Emerson's shirt and rounded on him. She suddenly realized that Monty had had the second key card before.  
"Where the hell did Maya go?" She demanded.  
"Jasper got her somewhere safe," Monty answered evasively.  
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Clarke cried.  
Monty wouldn't look at her. "The white rooms can be sealed off so they don't let in radiation."  
The realization hit her. "She's saving them, isn't she? The people who helped us?"  
Monty nodded, looking at his feet.  
Clarke shared a meaningful glance at Bellamy.  
"Let's go," they said together.

Clarke clutched her handgun as they headed toward the stairwell. With a nod, Monty parted with them, heading to the white rooms. Clarke watched him go with a small sense of satisfaction. She knew she had to meet Lexa. They needed to stop the grounders from entering Level 5 and getting into where the children, the people of Mount Weather, were. They would be safe if only she made it in time. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Lexa, only that she didn’t want the grounders to break open the door in their battle lust. They had no conception of the destruction they could cause by contaminating the air. She had the thought then that her people should train the grounders, and teach them about the technology that had been spying on the them and killing them for almost a century. Their alliance, she hoped, would extend beyond the battle for the mountain.

Her thoughts thus occupied, she never fully remembered the run down to Level 4. All she remembered was being in battle again, or rather, Bellamy killing one soldier as he ran toward the stairwell they came out of.  
What she did remember was Lexa standing at the head of a group of Grounders, covered in blood and barking out orders. They had clearly managed to enter the mountain when Monty got the door open.  
Then Lexa noticed Clarke picking up a gun from the dead soldier's hand. It was hot to the touch, but she didn't even care. In that moment, her eyes locked on Lexa, she was surprised to find herself wondering why the hell she hadn't given Lexa a chance to kiss her on more than just her lips.  
"Lexa! We got it under control! They don't have to go any further!" She called down the hallway.  
Lexa stride toward them, wiping her sword on a cloth. Blood trailed in her wake.  
"This can't be all. There might be more soldiers. We will wipe them out if we have to," Lexa growled.  
Her entourage cheered at her words. Clarke and Bellamy stood firm, however.  
"If you open up some of the doors up there, people will die. Maybe even children," Bellamy pleaded, "The level isn't clear."  
"You will stand aside!" Lexa said menacingly. She seemed to be in a frenzy of bloodlust, just as Clarke had feared.

Clarke put herself directly in Lexa's path and squared her shoulders.  
"No," she said firmly.  
"My people have suffered at the hands of those beasts. We will destroy them," Lexa challenged.  
"You think mine haven't, when the Mountain Men drilled into them? Don't you think it might be time to put aside death and keep some people alive? Isn't that why started this together?" Clarke reasoned.  
Lexa's face softened ever so slightly.  
"You do not understand," she said, attempting to step forward. Clarke held out her hands, placing them defiantly on Lexa's chest. She tried not to think of other situations where this would a viable option, holding her ground.  
"Lexa, if you kill those people, you destroy any hope for peace. You destroy lives. Some of them are safe, but not all. We can have a trial later to determine who is guilty of harming our people. But for now, we need answers. We need to know what happened here and how to get everyone out. We can save the Reapers with the medical knowledge and equipment here. Then, I promise, you can put your sword through the hearts of the ones that hurt your people."  
The corridor was silent at these words. Clarke was worried for a moment that they wouldn't get through, but Lexa's face softened as their eyes met.  
"Remain behind. Guard the corridor,” she called over her shoulder. There was a low grumble of assent.  
"Lead the way, Clarke," Lexa said softly. The turned and entered the stairwell. As Bellamy took the lead, Lexa grabbed Clarke's arm, pushing her violently against the concrete. "You made me look a fool. You don't know what you have done. My people deserve a fight, deserve to kill these Mountain Men. _Jus drein, jus draun._ "  
Clarke felt a flutter of fear along with a swoop of attraction. With her back pressed against the cold wall, she used the only defense she had left.  
"There are innocent children on Level 5, remember? And the people that helped us, we have to get them to a place where they can be quarantined. And then we get my people out. That was our agreement, dammit!"  
Lexa abruptly let go of her and turned away. She took a moment to gather herself, while Bellamy gave Clarke a worried look over his shoulder.  
"My people will conduct the trials, and kill those who killed my people. That will be the way. The children will be spared," the Commander said at last. "And if there is any backlash against my leadership, you will take the blame for this," she added.  
Clarke felt like Lexa had physically hit her. After all they had been through already, this seemed wildly unfair. But she knew the grounders had different rules, and Lexa had to save face. She had known that the day TonDC was bombed.  
She pushed past Lexa, feeling fire in her veins.  
"You're lucky I made this alliance, Lexa, and that I'm the one that still respects you,” she whispered quietly. She knew then that she would forgive Lexa for almost anything to stop the bloodshed, for the hope that they might be together.

 


	8. EPILOUGE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the war, Clarke and the rest of her people are settled in and Clarke is finally ready to be with Lexa.

Two months later, Clarke could still remember the war. Looking out over the curve of the Ark, she wiped cold sweat from her brow and sat heavily next to Bellamy. It was freezing now in the middle of winter and she rubbed her hands together for warmth.

“He's doing well,” Bellamy grunted, nodding toward Lovejoy's son, who was practicing with a small dagger under the tutelage of a stern Lincoln.

Clarke nodded. “Better than he was.”

She took a sip of warm broth from a canteen and passed it to Bellamy. She couldn't help but remember the frightened Mountain children, when they had taken them from quarantine. Clarke and some of the the other delinquents had actually volunteered to immunize them with bone marrow, thankfully under anesthesia and with ample recovery time. Jasper had been trying for months to give his bone marrow to Maya, but she flatly refused. She kept telling him that if her people weren't all able to walk outside, she wouldn't either. Clarke was very proud of her, as she had been elected President in captivity. 

Across the common yard, she spotted Lexa tutoring some older kids on survival skills. She smiled at her, remembering the way the Commander had sat by her bedside. The bone marrow donation, though less painful than it would have been if the Mountain Men had done it, was still unpleasant and took time to recover from. Lexa spent the time teaching her Trigedasleng, and had her practice by telling asking about the Ark and her life in space. The Commander was a gentle but firm teacher, and she was also an excellent listener. Clarke enjoyed the time they spent getting to know one another.

“I wonder if he's going to hate me when he finds out I killed his dad,” Bellamy mused morosely.

Clarke frowned as he passed her back the canteen of hot broth, as though disgusted with himself.

“We did a lot of things we shouldn't have been forced to do, Bell,” she said quietly. Octavia had joined Lincoln, bringing them fresh bread and water for lunch. Clarke was glad she and Bellamy had a chance to rest. They had less council work after the trials, of course. She had needed the rest after the endless days of judgment and death.

_Fourteen soldiers, including Emerson, were all that was left of the Mountain's trained fighters. After confessing their crimes and confirming what had been found in the computer records, they were all sentenced to death by a thousand cuts. Clarke had hated to watch. The Grounders had carried out the kills with gusto, getting drunk and rowdy. The camp had blazed with fire through a sea of swords. Lexa had had a platform erected on which she stood, in front of all fourteen soldiers. They were tied up roughly, but tightly, their bonds cutting into their skin, blood running down their hands. The Commander had to but glare angrily at the crowd, and all fallen silent before her._

_“Tonight we honor the promise made to us in the mountain. We will cut open those who captured, drained, and killed us for decades. These men have confessed on trial that they personally killed our people. Tonight we serve their justice! Jus drein, jus draun!”_

_And as if they knew the drill, hundreds of grounders filed in an orderly fashion onto the platform. Some cut the men and uttered curses, other swore or spit in their faces. The men cried and begged for mercy long before they died._

_None lasted the night._

_Clarke would never forget the way they hung limp and the boards ran with their blood._

_ The other fallen Mountain Men were wrapped in rough cloth and carried to the platform. The morning air was silent as all the dead were gathered. Before a dozen torches touched the wood, Clarke had laid a garland of six headed dandelions on the shrunken body of Dante Wallace. She did not cry then, but it had only been two days since she had shot the President. She _ couldn't _  believe the trials and sentencing had gone by so quickly. Her mother and the other council members, along with a panel of Lexa and her generals, were all fairly willing to sentence all the Mountain Men to death. The soldiers confessed they had taken blood and marrow from unwilling Arkers and were ordered to kill them if they escaped or were no longer useful. Some men cried or begged for the lives of their families to be spared. They were assured they would be taken care of. _

“Hey, we could really use some help on that signal rig, if you two aren't busy,” came Raven's sarcastic voice from behind them.

Feeling caught, Clarke turned with a guilty smile. She got up and brushed her clothes off.

“Hey, want some broth?” Bellamy offered as he got up as well.

“Sure, thanks,” Raven said, taking the canteen, “But you're about to feel really sweaty now that we got the ropes on it,” she called as she walked away.

They headed over to where the beams and metal of the signal were strung up and ready to go. Half the camp was gathered to help with the final construction of a project they had been working on for months. The rig had a radio and lookout tower built into it and would stand in the center of Camp Jaha. It would allow them to communicate with the rest of the colony still in Mount Weather. The remaining 100 had, understandably, chosen not to weather the winter inside the mountain. The horror of the place still bothered them enough to make it unbearable. The Grounders camped in and around Camp Jaha came and went often, but at night the camp was guarded. The tower was one of many improvements they had made during the long winter.

As Clarke went to grab a rope, Lexa fell in beside her.

“So glad you joined us, Clarke,” the Commander teased.

Hiding a smile, Clarke played along.

“So glad to see you doing grunt work instead of playing soldier, Commander.”

They shared a grin and helped pull the ropes to raise the tower.

That night, they celebrated with a massive bonfire to ease the chill. Clarke was sitting and drinking liberally from a canteen of Monty's moonshine by the fire. Octavia, who still didn't quite forgive Clarke and often went on long walks alone or with Lincoln, sat across from her. Clarke wished she could make things right, but there was nothing she could do. She had made hard decisions during the war, but she had saved the Mountain Men, or at least most of them. The children were in training as Grounder seconds. Many of them had had a hard time adjusting, and many warriors had turned them away until their Commander had ordered them to train and help raise the orphaned and displaced kids. Meanwhile, Clarke and Lexa had formed trade agreements and sat through hours of debates about land and resources. Her mother, as Chancellor, had been difficult. They had fought endlessly through the proceedings, until they agreed that Clarke and Bellamy would be the council in Camp Jaha and she and Kane would stay in the mountain and take any patients who wanted more care than the traditional healers could provide. Her mother was unhappy about splitting their resources, but there was no way the delinquents could ever be comfortable in their former prison.

Clarke sighed heavily at the memory of her mom's disappointed face. Octavia turned to her at the sound. She was coldly regarding Clarke when Lexa approached the fire.

“Clarke,” she said, the name clicking on her tongue with a slight catch.

Clarke turned.

“Lexa? Whats wrong?”

“Nothing is...wrong. Could I...” she lifted her head a little higher, as though trying to boost her courage, “May I speak to you in private?”

Surprised that Lexa asked and did not command, Clarke rose unsteadily to her feet. She cast a quick glance at Octavia, who refused to look at her.

“Sure,” she said, following Lexa away from the fire.

They fell in step with each other, and Clarke felt a flutter of nervousness. Though she and Lexa had spoken many times since the day they kissed, she still felt the tension between them always below the surface. She and Lexa had often agreed on the policies in place to help make things right between Sky People and Grounders, and with each day Clarke felt her affection for the Commander grow.

They headed away from the fire, toward the fence line. It seemed like they were just wandering as they passed groups of people. Clarke began to feel impatient. She felt the frustration of not knowing where things between them stood well up in her chest. As they entered a quiet area behind the curve of the Ark, Clarke gently took Lexa's bicep and turned her around.

“Is there something you need to tell me? Because I'm not waiting on you hand foot like everyone else does for you to decide what you want,” Clarke said. She realized it came out a bit more harsh than she expected only after the fact.

Lexa's eyebrows raised at the unexpected outburst.

“What if I wanted to you to come home with me?”

Clarke's mouth fell open.

Confused, Clarke tried to gather herself.

“You mean your tent or...your...huh?”

It didn't come out as smooth as she had hoped. Her head felt fuzzy from the drinks she had had earlier.

Lexa's expression became, if possible, more surprised. Worse, it became more smug. Clarke was really not enjoying where this was going. For the hundredth time, she wondered what the hell she was getting into by having a crush on the Grounder Commander.

“Clarke, you may do so if you wish, but I was referring to Polis,” Lexa replied.

“What's Polis?” Clarke asked stupidly. She felt a bit lightheaded as Lexa stepped closer to her, and a soft breeze lifted the heavy tresses of her brown hair. A soft, almost imperceptible smile lit her features, something Clarke rarely saw but always treasured. Her teeth were white in the darkness and Clarke felt a tug in her stomach at the memory of their kiss.

“Polis is our Capitol. You should come with me. It will change the way you see my people,” Lexa said, quietly, almost breathlessly.

Clarke was taken aback, but her response came almost without thought.

“You already have.”

There was a short pause as if Lexa was unsure how to respond. Clarke shuffled her feet, kicking a small clod of old snow. Lexa smiled, the most true, honest, and frankly beautiful smile Clarke had ever seen. She felt that it was just for her alone, and she appreciated it. She felt her pulse race just looking at Lexa, and a warm feeling of happiness nestled in her chest next the ghosts from her past. Strangely, it finally felt alright that Finn was dead and she had new, hopeful feelings for Lexa. Her life was continuing, and after saving as many lives as she could, she might just have a chance with Lexa. And she was okay with that.

“We should leave in a few days, before the next snow fall.”

Clarke frowned, her hopeful mood falling a bit.

“Lexa...a few days is really fast. There's a lot of things I need to do, and the Council will be short a member and they won't be able to vote without me," she added.

Though this was true, Clarke was also unsure about traveling away from the place where her friends were. She thought of the endless hours spent with her mom, Kane, Bellamy, and Millers dad. They were the New Ark Council. Overall, the balance of interests had caused most votes to be close. Bellamy and Clarke tended to to agree, while Kane and her mom sided with each other. Miller's dad was the tie breaker almost all of time, and represented both the common Arkers and the Mountain Men. He spent a lot of time guarding the quarantine areas and was sympathetic to their needs and demands.

"What is it?" Clarke said, her breath puffing through the air with less force than she intended.  
Lexa turned to her, and the look in her eyes was so deep, so soft, that Clarke was taken aback.  
"I wanted to be alone with you Clarke." She admitted.  
Clarke smiled despite herself.  
"Go on?" She said, somewhat playfully.  
Lexa looked down, something Clarke was not used to seeing. Her head was always held high, and she normally surveyed all around her imperiously. But now it was different, as though she was deferring to Clarke.  
"Your mother already approved you leaving," Lexa revealed.  
Clarke raised her eyebrows. "My mom. The Chancellor. Never." She said in mock shock.  
"Sarcasm is the product of a weak mind Clarke," Lexa chastised.  
"Guess I have one then,” Clarke shot back, eliciting a sexy half smile from Lexa. “Seriously, though. Why did my mother say it was okay?   
Lexa ducked her head again. "Now that the radio tier is up, Raven wants to test its range. Polis is quite far, but she says if we place boosters strategically, we can keep contact with the Capitol. In time, we might even be able to connect each clan through radio and video feeds. That would save a lot of traveling for clan meetings."  
"I thought your people were against technology," Clarke pointed out.  
"We are against that which destroyed the world in the first place, Clarke. Medicine and communication are technology I wish my people to embrace again. It may take time to convince them, but we can use technology of the past if we only have the expertise,"  
Clarke mulled this over for a moment. The world had been destroyed once before because of technology. But maybe if the Grounders started from scratch and integrated technology slowly into their nature-centered way of life, things might change. Life expectancy, for one. And most importantly, if Grounders learned about technology, they might be less scared and hesitant to use it or the trust the Sky People and Mountain Men who used it.  
"I think those are all good reasons, Lexa. But why do I have to go to Polis? Why not send Raven?"  
Lexa shuffled her feet in the dirt this time. "Raven cannot sit a horse if it bolts or kicks, and the ride to Polis is about 2 days on horseback."  
"Oh," Clarke said. She was actually a bit disappointed at the answer. "I was actually hope you just wanted me around or something," she added sarcastically.  
Lexa looked at her and took a few steps closer. Their heads were bathed in a halo of white clouds from their breath.  
"I do want you with me," Lexa whispered.  
Without thinking, Clarke closed the space between them further. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, reminding her to be alive in this moment and forget about the past.  
"Then I'm ready to be with you," she whispered back, pressing her lips to Lexa's. The cold and heat and dark and light faded away inside the press of their mouths, and Clarke was sure that this was better then just surviving.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally finished the ending to this story. So sorry it took so long...life got in the way. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this. It was an interesting first attempt at fanfic, and I enjoyed sharing the alternate ending with you all!


End file.
